This specification is about human telepresence in space. During his or her turn in control of a given proxy robot, the human handler sees and feels and acts through the “person” of that robot: guiding the proxy in exploring; mining; doing science experiments; constructing; observing the earth, planets or stars; launching spaceships to further destinations; rescuing other robots or humans; or simply enjoying an earthrise over the moon's horizon. To maximize this interface, the human handler should have access to an environment simulator that replicates the conditions of the proxy robot's remote location to the greatest possible extent.
In the prior art are several patents dealing with omni-directional and spherical treadmills, all involving simulated virtual reality (VR) generated by a computer program as opposed to the simulation of the actual environment being experienced by a proxy robot in its remote environment as taught in the present invention. Carmein U.S. Pat. No. 5,562,572 discloses ways to make an omni directional treadmill for VR and other purposes, but the methods and apparatus employed do not anticipate the specification to follow. Nor are his treadmill designs very stable, with the human constrained by balance cuffs, support struts, hand grips and the like just to stay upright.
Carmein '572 also makes brief mention of how the omni-directional treadmill of his invention may be utilized in telepresence in a one-paragraph description of FIG. 18 (FIG. 39 in C.I.P. '256 below), but fails to claim or adequately teach how a human can be productively linked in practice to a robot in some remote location. In the present specification and a companion application pertaining to handler environment simulation, prior art weaknesses, defects and “science fiction” will be overcome as methods and apparatus for a complete human handler-proxy robot system are disclosed.
Latypov U.S. Pat. No. 5,846,134 features a spherical shell inside of which a human walks in treadmill fashion, but this concept is quite distinct from the spherical treadmill disclosed in the current application, where the human handler of a proxy robot stands and moves on the top exterior of a sphere with diameter sufficiently large (typically 30 feet in diameter) that the handler, to all intents and purposes, is moving on a flat surface if that is the remote terrain being simulated.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,980,256, also by Carmein, is a continuation-in-part of '572 above and U.S. Pat. No. 5,490,784. The latter pertains to spherical capsules within which humans can walk (albeit uphill) in any direction, but does not apply to the present invention. The circular form in Carmein's ('256) FIG. 23 does not denote a turntable, but rather defines a circular track unlike the current invention. While Carmein's FIG. 37 and description are somewhat akin to the motion simulator in the current specification's FIG. 7, the point is moot in any case since such motion simulators are well-established in the prior art.
Butterfield U.S. Pat. No. 6,135,928. This patent, which expired in 2008, discloses a spherical treadmill for VR gaming, but it is so small at 6-7 ft. diameter as to never seem flat to its human “rider,” who requires a restraining harness and support system just to stay upright. In the Butterfield patent, the sphere basically represents a human-powered trackball, operating in exactly that manner to input x- and y-axis orientation and movement to a VR game on a computer.
Put another way, Butterfield's focus is virtual reality, for fantasy games, while the application below is all about the best-possible simulation of actual reality in a remote location. As a consequence, the Stephens specification does not utilize a small, inflatable sphere as a computer trackball or mouse as taught by Butterfield, but rather uses a much larger and firmer motor-driven spherical treadmill to replicate the terrain upon which a proxy robot is walking, climbing or carrying out various tasks. (Butterfield does depict how a “hill” can be created by moving the user off-center, but the problem with such a small sphere is that there is a constant “hill” created by the small-diameter sphere itself.)
These and other distinctions over the current art will become evident from study of the specification and drawings to follow, which discloses novel systems, methods and apparatus to simulate the environment present at the proxy robotic mission site and thus assure the best possible outcome for that mission.